Kumazawa Hiromichi

Kumazawa Hiromichi (熊沢 寛道, December 18, 1889 – June 11, 1966), also known as the "Kumazawa emperor,"[1] was a Japanese businessman and Buddhist priest from Nagoya who publicly disputed the legitimacy of Emperor Hirohito's bloodline in the period shortly after the end of the Second World War. He claimed to be the 19th direct descendant of Emperor Go-Kameyama.[2]

Kumazawa Hiromichi
Kumazawa Hiromichi
Born(1889-12-18)December 18, 1889
Aichi prefecture
DiedJune 11, 1966(1966-06-11) (aged 76)
Tokyo
NationalityJapanese
OccupationBuddhist priest, businessman
Known forContesting the Imperial Throne of Japan
Notes
Some data has been translated from the Japanese Wikipedia article
Photo of Kumazawa Hiromichi in 1947
In this Japanese name, the surname is Kumazawa.

In 1946-1947, Hiromichi was only the first of roughly nineteen men who put themselves forward as Japan's rightful Emperor.[3] As a direct descendant of the Southern Court emperors of the Nanboku-chō period, he argued that Emperor Hirohito was illegitimate. He pointed out that Hirohito's entire line is descended from the Northern Court emperors. He produced a koseki detailing his bloodline back to Emperor Go-Daigo in Yoshino, but his claims and rhetoric failed to inspire anything other than sympathy.[4]

Hiromichi's claims ultimately remained unsubstantiated.[5]

Notes
  1. Bix, Herbert P. (2000). Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, p. 566.
  2. Pan-Asia Newspaper Alliance. (1959) The Asia Who's Who, p. 309.
  3. Bailey, Don C. (1964). A glossary of Japanese Neologisms, p. 97.
  4. Dower, John W. (1999). Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, pp. 306-307.
  5. Maga, Timothy P. (2000). Judgment at Tokyo : the Japanese War Crime Trials, p. 40-41.

References
  • Bix, Herbert P. (2000). Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-019314-0; OCLC 247018161
  • Dower, John W. (1999). Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II. New York: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-04686-1; OCLC 39143090
  • Lauterbach, Richard E. "The True Emperor of Japan," Life (January 21, 1946). Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 33.
  • Maga, Timothy P. (2000). Judgment at Tokyo : the Japanese War Crime Trials. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2177-2; OCLC 234087535
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